Receptacle closure



July 22 1958 G. D. HOFE 2,844,266

RECEPTACLE CLOSURE Filed April 1, 1955 IN VEN TOR. @5052? M61148 fibffUnited States PatentO The present invention relates to closures forjars,

bottles or the like and, more particularly, to-a closure for thedispensing opening thereof after the sealing closurev has been removed.

A great number of products, which are used frequently and will not spoilif exposed to the atmosphere for a reasonable time in the course oftheir consumption, are packed in bottles or jars that are sealed. bymeans'of a screw closure. Consequently, the consumer must'un-. screw theclosure and reapply the same each time the product is used. Theseoperations are time consuming and annoying, particularly where severalpersons use the same package and certain persons apply the closure sotightly that the others cannot readily remove the same. Also, in thehandling of the closure it is frequently dropped requiring getting downon the floor to search for the same. This may result in injury, if thesearcher arises suddenly while partly under a sink, basin, table. or thelike, .it being well known that the lost bottle top is the cause of agreat number of household accidents.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is; to eliminate theforegoing difficulties by providing a closure for the dispensing openingof such bottles and jars which closure is utilized after the sealingclosure has been removed.

Another object is to provide such a closure which is simple andeconomical in construction and which is readily manipulated to uncloseand close the opening.

A further object is to provide such a closure which lends itself to usein connection with bottles and jars having dispensing openings of a widevariety of shapes and sizes.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of theillustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated inthe appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein willoccur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention inpractice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a bottle having a closure in accordance with thepresent invention attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the bottle shown inFig. l, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 3-3 on Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 3, illustratinganother embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the closure shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view, illustrating still another embodiment of theinvention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawing in detail, a package is shownwhich comprises a receptacle 10 formed with a shoulder 11 and a neck 12which terminates in a lip or rim 14 and which defines the dispensingopening of the receptacle, and a closure in accordance with the The neck12 is formed with screw threads 15 at the ex terior thereof for thereception of a screw cap forsealing the receptacle before the contentsare to be consumed. x This cap is not shown because it has alreadybeenre moved to illustrate the package in its condition during-theconsumption of its contents. The receptacle imay be a bottle or jar orother form of container constructed of glass, metal or suitablesynthetic plastic material.

The closure for the dispensing opening which serves-to close the sameduring the consumption of the contents,

generally comprises a disc16 and means 17 for many mounting the discacross the dispensing opening. p 1

Such means, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, maybe a'clip which is generally inthe form of aninverted U and has a pair of depending legs 19 and ahorizontalportion '20. The legs are shaped to conform-to. the neck andshoulder of the receptacle andengage the. inner wall thereof to attachthe clip thereto. The con-j connecting the legs.

necting portion provides a pin-likeelement extending substantiallydiametrically across the dispensing opening and extends through aperturemeans of the disc to tiltably support the same. The clip may be formedof stiff wire, whereby the legs are spring-urged againstthe' receptacleWall. 1

As shown more particularly in Fig. 1, the disc '16ihasi. a semi-circularsection 21 of anarea adapted to fit into the dispensing opening and hasa semi-circular section;

22 of greater area adapted to overlie the rim 14 of the receptacle. Thepin-like portion extends through, an aperture 24 in the disc adjacentthe junction ofthesection's' Hand 22., 1

If desired, the disc may be provided with means for. normally retainingthe same in a position to close'the opening, such as a friction element,herein illustrated as.

Y a spring tab 25 on the underside of the disc section adapted to engagethe inner wall of the receptacle neck adjacent the rim.

In order to maintain the disc in a position to unclose the opening whenthe tab 25 is out of engagement with the receptacle and to therebyenable the contents to be withdrawn from the receptacle, the discsection 21 is of greater mass than the section 22, whereby the disc isunbalanced with the section 21 extending into the receptacle neck, asshown in Fig. 3. This may be accomplished by making the section 21suificiently thicker than the section 22 to outweigh the latter.

In Figs. 4 and 5, another form of disc mounting means 17a is shown whichis particularly useful because it can be attached directly in the neckof the receptacle near the rim without relying on the receptacleshoulder contour to affix the same. Such means comprise a ring 26 whichis fitted into the receptacle neck, and a pin 20a extending through thedisc aperture 24 and having its ends seated in substantiallydiametrically opposite openings 27 in the ring. The ring may becontinuous, or may be split at 28 in order to be spring-urged againstthe neck wall, whereby the ring need not conform exactly to the innerneck wall but may be slightly over-sized to force fit the same therein.

In the foregoing embodiment, the disc section 21 is adapted to extendinto the ring 26 and the disc section 22 is adapted to overlie the ringas well as the receptacle rim (Fig. 4).

In Fig. 6, the inner wall of the receptacle neck 12, near the rim 14, isformed with recess means, such as an annular groove 30, and asubstantially semi-circular clip 31 is biased in this groove. The cliphas a diametrically extending section 32 for tiltably mounting the disc16. The clip receiving recess means could likewise be provided by a pairof small continuous or interrupted annu- Patented July 22, 19 58 3 .1vention for the opening about to be described in detailL L. lar beads orribs spaced apart to provide the equivalent of the groove 30.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the presentinvention. provides a simple, practical and economical dispensingclosure which eliminates the necessity of frequentapplication andremoval of a screw closure. In the event the receptacle is to be takenon a trip, the screw closure may be reapplied. It will also beunderstood that the dispensing closure could be inserted.

departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and Withoutsacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that allmatters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limitingsense.

What is claimed is:

1. A closure for a receptacle having a dispensing opening comprisingclip means adapted to engage the inner Wall of the receptacle includinga pin-like element adapted to extend across the opening, said clip meansbeing an inverted, generally U-shaped member having a pair of legsconforming to the portion of the receptacle wall engaged thereby andbeing interconnected by said pinlike element, and a disc tiltablymounted on said element serving as a closure for the opening uponattachment of said clip means to the receptacle.

2- A closure according to claim 1, including means for normallyretaining said disc in a position to close the opening.

3. A closureaccording to claim 2, wherein said re taining means is afriction element on the underside of 4. A closure according to claim 1,wherein the mass of said disc at one side of said element is greaterthan the mass of said disc at the other-side of said element to causesaid disc to tilt and unclose the opening.

5. A closure according to claim 4, wherein the side of greater mass isof an area to fi't into the opening and the side of lesser mass is of anarea to overlie the rim of the receptacle wall defining the opening.

6. A closure according to claim 5, wherein the underside of said dischas a friction element at the side of lesser mass.

7. A closure according to claim 1, wherein said disc at one side of saidelement is of an area to fit-into the opening and said disc .at theother side of said element is of an area to overlie the rim of thereceptacle wall defining the opening.

8. A closure according to claim 1, wherein the receptacle opening issubstantially circular and said disc isgenerally circular.

9. A closure according to claim 8, wherein said disc has a semi-circularsection at one side of said element adapted to fit into the opening andhas a semi-circular section at .the other side'of said element adaptedto overlie the rim of the receptacle wall defining the opening.

10. A closure according to claim 9, wherein the first mentioned sectionhas a greater mass than said last mentioned section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS277,718 Hart May 15, 1883 1,154,973 Chenette Sept. 28, 1915 1,420,391Sweet June 20, 1922 1,840,673 Jenkins Jan.12, 1932 1,890,194 Punte Dec.6, 1932 1,894,575 Sherman Ian. 17, 1933 1,976,720 Engels Oct. 16, 19342,497,827 Trafton Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATEOF CORRECTION Patent No, 2,844,266 July 22, 1958 George Douglas Hofe Itis hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected belowo In the grant, line 3 and in the heading to the printedspecifi cation, line 3, address of inventor, for "East Orange" readSouth Orange Signed and sealed this 14th day of October 1958.,

(SEAL) Attest:

KARL AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

